Here is what has been keeping me from finishing up my knitting projects:

My first quilt!:

I’ve spent a few long days working on it so far. I have to make over 200 of these 5″ blocks. I have about half of them done. For a while I’ve been reading quilting blogs and thought I would start with something super modern or with asymmetrical large blocks. But I ultimately didn’t feel like taking a long time picking out fabrics and stressing myself out about My. First. Quilt. So I bought this kit from Connecting Threads! It was on sale, and I was just really into the fabrics. I think they are so cute up close, mostly all nautical themed. The quilt pattern is a little more traditional than I thought I would start with, but I just wanted to jump into doing something!

I’m enjoying the piecing together so far. I love being able to chain piece! (That’s where you sew a series of pieces together with just some empty stitches in between and then cut them apart after. It’s quicker than cutting the threads and starting over each seam). Though I did have a dream where I pulled a long string of pieces out of my bed like a circus clown. Before you cut them apart they look like a long piece of bunting. So far my biggest challenge has been trying to square up fabric. I am awful at it! I think it is straight and then after cutting, notice all my prints have a slight diagonal skew to them. Oh well. That’s what first quilts are for! I have an arbitrary deadline of having the piecing done by the end of February when I go to the Sewing & Stitchery Expo with my Mom in Puyallup.

I am kind of obsessed with nautical themes. Which is kind of weird because I have no Navy or seaside background, somewhat dislike overt patriotism and puke whenever I’m on the ocean!

With little anchor buttons! I don’t wear it much though because I always feel a little dumpy in it.

I also recently got some custom ordered Sven Clogs. They were a birthday gift from Lucas!

They would be perfect with a vintage style nautical outfit. Or something with a sailor collar! The problem with custom orders is that you can’t see how they’ll look before you get them. I really like these, but have had some trouble finding things to wear them with. If they were all navy blue they would probably be a lot more useful in my wardrobe.